Satoru Iwata Announces a "Quality of Life" Platform Business of "Non-Wearable" Technology

In what was the finale of Satoru Iwata's Investor Briefing, the Nintendo President has announced that the company is developing a new business platform that will be focused on "Quality of Life" (QOL) in the health sphere, utilising its history as an entertainment business to engage people in living healthier lives. Even more intriguingly, Iwata-san has referred to "non-wearable" technology that Nintendo believes will be innovative in the face of increasing trends of wearable technology.

Details are slim, as only the core concept has been outlined, with Iwata-san highlighting that Nintendo has dramatically increased its audience in the past with creative products, and believes it can do so again.

It has been a long time since people started to say that the console era has now shifted to a new mobile era, with wearable technology in the spotlight at CES this month.

However, as I said at the beginning of the presentation today, Nintendo is a company that sees the true value of entertainment lies in its individuality. Following others into the exceedingly crowded market of mobile applications or the market of wearable technology that is expected to become increasingly competitive and fighting with brute force is not our way of doing business. Yet again, it is our intention to go into a new blue ocean.

With that said, we wish to achieve an integrated hardware-software platform business that, instead of providing mobile or wearable features, will be characterized by a new area of what we like to call “non-wearable” technology. When we use “health” as the keyword, some may inevitably think about “Wii Fit.” However, we are considering themes that we have not incorporated to games for our existing platforms. Including the hardware that will enable such an idea, we will aim to establish a blue ocean.

The following excerpt (and image above) highlight how this product will be separate from existing consoles, yet ideas from previous software and future development may bring these platforms together.

However, what is generally good for health requires some kind of effort to be made by the individual, and, as I am sure that many of you have experienced this, it is sometimes difficult to stay focused and engaged, and it is not uncommon to give up after a few days. This is where our strength as an entertainment company to keep our consumers engaged and entertained comes into play, assisted by the non-wearable feature, which is the biggest differentiator of this new business field, as well as user experiences that integrate into people’s daily lives, all of which help us overcome this difficulty. If we do indeed succeed in doing so, we will be able to provide feedback to our consumers on a continual basis, and our approach will be to redefine the notion of health-consciousness, and eventually increase the fit population.

I feel that not only can this QOL-improving platform utilize our know-how and experience about video game platforms but also we can expect it to interact with games and create a synergistic effect.

Nintendo has released a series of games entitled “Touch Generations” that seek to expand the definition of games by releasing games in various fields including health-themed titles such as “Brain Age” and “Wii Fit,” or educational titles such as “English Training” and “Art Academy,” or lifestyle software such as “Cooking Navigator” (translation of Japanese title, only available in Japan). The know-how and experience we have acquired about entertainment through these games, or to put it differently, the ability to keep consumers engaged and entertained on a continual basis and the hospitality we can offer is something that we can take advantage of now in order to increase the value of our QOL-improving platform.

On the other hand, while we feel that this is going to take two to three years after its launch, we expect the QOL-improving platform to provide us with new themes which we can then turn into games that operate on our future video game platforms, too. Once we have established such a cycle, we will see continuous positive interactions between the two platforms that enable us to make unique propositions.

The company plans to unveil this product in 2014 and release it after 1st April 2015. It'll be intriguing to see what this concept actually is, yet it's clear that Nintendo is optimistic that it can be an innovative success in the world market.

What do you make of this concept, and what do you think it will be? Let us know in the comments below.

From the web

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its kind of virtualized platform where we will see games like wii fit and brain training but with other activities and themes and not necessary on the wii U or 3ds, and once the platform get massive fan base it will be a potential gamers for their core products (traditional games on their hardware like mario, zelda etc.) well that is what I understood from this puzzle...

This QOL system catches a different audience than the gamers, who, with the help of game integration, become part of the gamer community as well. The gamers then also become part of the QOL community. In simpler terms, it's a broader entrance to the same place, this place being a healthy gamer lifestyle. I can dig it. God knows I need to be healthier.

I am extremely skeptical. Specializing in non-wearable "QOL" devices sounds like they'll have the same problem they now have in the mobile gaming arena: the majority of people are carrying smart phones, not dedicated portable gaming devices.

@Moorpheel They are leaping over Mobile and Wearable business platforms and going for a new non-wearable platform as far as integrated hardware-software goes. Basically, this means they won't be making a mobile phone or wearable QOL device, such as Google Glass, in the near future. They will instead focus their attention on innovating in the untapped non-wearable QOL market by creating both the hardware and software for this unknown device.

...Is it going to be, like, a training robot or something?! R.O.B. 2? I dunno, when he was talking about people having trouble concentrating and said they would be assisted by the non-wearable feature, the first thing that popped up in my head was a robot.

@Zaphod_Beeblebrox You could be right. However, Google Glass and other wearable QOL devices are about to be released to the public, and in reality you, I, and even the great Michael Pachter don't really know what the impact of those devices on the market will be. Nintendo could be on to something here, and they also could be wasting their time and resources.

This is interesting I'm not quite sure what they mean by non wearable (other than it's not worn) at this point they didn't give us much to go on other than their expanding their business to more than gaming and it will improve your fitness in an entertaining way. The concept makes sense

I suggest to click on the link and read the whole lengthy presentation. It conveys more substantial information and even a few more explicative graphics. From what I gathered, Nintendo will present a new hardware with dedicated software which will focus on health, and you may figure the picture by thinking at the Ds with the various Brain Training or the Wii with Wii fit. Think of those as two potential specifically designed console, and you'll get a glimpse of what will come next.
Problem is: it doesn't directly help Wii U sales and... it's another new piece of hardware waiting to be sold to "oceans" of possibly uninterested people. A very indirect approach to solving the real problem, let alone a very risky one.

Nintendo is only reacting to the market. If gamers don't want to buy their console, Nintendo needs to move beyond gaming to survive long term(past 20/30 years). We spoke with our wallets that we don't like Nintendo consoles (Im speaking as consumers as a whole, I love my Wii U), so Nintendo thinks they can wow the world... They done it many times, I bet they can do it again.

I have a different opinion than most gamers. I think Nintendo should do whatever they wish to make money. Even branching to outside of the gaming market. In the end if they are successful, it means we will still get more Nintendo games.

Iwata's comments show he isn't going to sit around waiting for Wii U to make a comeback, so while the strategy of flooding the Wii U with exclusives over the next few years will continue, they are already looking at new lines of business..

If Nintendo can figure out how to keep people engaged in exercise long term where every exercise company has failed, they will print money.... Most exercise products has people sticking with it for a few days before giving up, only a small minority will stick to it..... I'm intrigued, can't wait to hear more about it.

So it seems like Nintendo is trying to expand into other markets besides games. I figured they would eventually do this, since the hardware market has such poor returns(Sony and Microsoft lost millions last gen and only survived because of their other markets). I just never guessed a video game company would be entering the fitness market. I just hope they know what they're doing and that this new product doesn't end up being a dud.

This is a shot in the dark, but I think what it means is something along the lines of the pokewalker and Wii Fit. You can play the games in the comfort of your homes and take the game with you. With the pokewalker you were still able to play pokemon on the tiny device, and then interact with the DS and transfer information between the two.

It looks like Nintendo is thinking of other ways of making money in our global economy by possibly creating fitness equipment that will interact with our cell phones and gaming systems. I hope this new market that Nintendo is trying to tap into works out for them so we can get more games down the horizon.

Both Microsoft and Sony have their hands in many types of markets by producing various products like (PC, TV, and Software) It looks like Nintendo wants to take a stab into the Health and Wellness market.

@potomas costs money to make games. So expanding their business to new areas will allow them to fund more projects. The Wii U isn't exactly printing money for them and they can't scrap it and replace it until at least 2017, so they need more revenue streams.

Is this going to be Nintendo's new strategy? They should have already learned that the Blue Ocean is only a temporary solution. Why didn't the slew of "gamers" they brought in with the Wii move to the Wii U? Stop creating markets and letting others take them over; You have to use brute force if you want to keep a market.

@Csaw well, Nintendo is pretty good at making activities fun. If they can solve the problem of most people giving up on a exercise program after a few days they will print money.

Wii Fit is fun at first but some of the activities get stale quickly, so they would have to anticipate users getting bored with their activities and keep evolving this service/product. I hope they can achieve that goal of keeping people motivated and on track as it would help the obesity epidemic

I am very excited right now. Intergrating tech in a meaningful way to our day to day lives that will improve health and other aspects of life? Sign me up! Oh, and it will link with my system? Wow. I get it Nintendo. No competing in existing spaces. Create your own space. Awesome!

I'll tend to exclude augmented reality, but definitely will be an integrated software which will test diet plans, daily calories and best food resources. In some strange way, I cannot shrug off the idea of a heavily-centered kitchen-based device. It should be enough convince the new adopters to complete their health craze and have a taste of the complementary Wii U Fit-software.

@SomeBitTripFan I agree, we need the old 90's Nintendo back that didn’t take poopiedoodoocacapoopledoopledoggiepoodledoo from no one " like SEGA ." Current Nintendo innovates but allows the competition to come out and out do them.Watch the profanity, please — TBD

@element187 I feel like the wii fit craze kind of died though. It was a fad that came and went. If Nintendo wants to enter this market they are gonna have to do something else that no other company is doing, or do it better then any other competitor out there. Here's hoping it works out for them.

@Nomad the problem with that is that theme parks are very expensive to build and maintain and once the novelty wore off and less people went it would just become a money guzzler for them (like so many other theme parks were to other businesses).

@SomeBitTripFan Brute force will just destroy Nintendo when it comes to today's video game market. Too unstable. Sony/MS and 3rd parties are set to destroy themselves and the industry anyway. Nintendo just has to sit back and watch it happen and then pick up the pieces afterwards.

@Doma Nintendo is doing this alongside video games, not instead of video games! It's clear that Nintendo needs to expand beyond video games and hanafuda cards (they still make those today) in order to survive long-term (as in beyond 20-30 years)

I know! How about you market a console with an actual series of commercials, and make a system with must have games? Seriously Iwata I want to know what the new Wii U game plan is in 2014. Not your next gimmick to keep yourself different. The casual market from the Wii is gone! just face facts, they aren't coming back. you need to focus on attracting the gamer to your hardware, not this junk. Wii Fit is a fad, and it's a slowly fading fad. I wish that they would just focus on increasing third party support and maybe working on a more attractive system to release in 2017. I am perfectly fine jogging to be fit, not lying to myself and pretending to do some hula hoops without going into the damn sunlight. that's just a embarrassing and a sad idea that I don't want pursued.

I miss when Nintendo used to just make cool games that were fun to play. When they worked on making games, rather than coming up with new technology and adapting the games to it. Unfortunately though, making good games isn't enough, as proven by the Gamecube...

The nintendolife community right now:
"i don't understand a few slides that were directed at investors and not the consumer, there for I'm gonna call it stupid cause I don't understand."
Or this:
"damn it nintendo, how dare you do something other then make games for me all the time. I'm gonna complain about something that I don't even know the full scope about yet."

So where are all the people complaining that Sony and Microsoft make other things other then games then because how dare they have other revenue streams as well

@boynerdrambling Well seeing as Nintendo is the only dedicated gaming company of the three, I would say the comparison isn't really valid. Sony's other "revenue streams" are also doing rather poorly, seeing as they have roughly an 80% chance of going bankrupt in two years. I'd say people are worried about Nintendo becoming something other than a video game company. I don't want any more gimmicks, I just want some quality titles on a decent system. This speaks to me as if they are going in a different direction which I don't know if it'll be successful or not, but I believe it'll hurt Nintendo. Their casual market is drying up fast, I think Nintendo should be looking to attracting the dedicated gaming market once again. I hope they do something soon.

Also, heres the best summary I've come across today over the presentation. Should help explain to some of you who "don't get" Nintendo's plan.

The traditional gaming market is shrinking - TTWO and EA are shells of their former selves - and ATVI needs Destiny to make it big otherwise they are going to crash and burn from their debt burden. We don't need to talk about Ubisoft being on the verge of death multiple times over the past few years.

Nintendo is still going to keep making great games - they've made tremendous investments in the space over the past few years - even if traditional gaming dies - I can guarantee you Nintendo will be the last hold out and try to keep providing a traditional gaming experience.

If you were talking about Konami or Capcom who have no vested interest in their own hardware platforms - I'd agree with you - but you are talking about Iwata - the guy isn't going to let Nintendo give up on traditional games - he is burning hundreds of million on R&D for HD development - this strategy finally makes sense because it gives Nintendo the freedom to pursue a vast audience that is not on its own devices without sacrificing the high-quality games they are developing for their own platforms.

Basically Iwata is saying that the casual audience consumes their services in different ways - and Nintendo loses them by trying to sell them another expensive device when the world has evolved beyond that - getting people to buy a Wii U with the promise of another $100 Wii Fit U package isn't going to work - but that by treating those customers as consumers of Nintendo as a device-agnostic platform - they can preserve and profit from them - while actively pushing them to buy their hardware for the best experience. Some people will want a Nintendo console, some will just want a Nintendo wearable and some will want a Nintendo handheld, and yet others will just use their smartphone and just enjoy whatever content is accessible to them from there.

Yes Nintendo is late to the party - but this beats needlessly investing billions into online competitive multiplayer and other features to try and match Sony and Microsoft and Valve's entire Steam ecosystm in a shrinking marketplace. As a shareholder I'm extremely happy. As a gamer I'm even happier. We get to keep the traditional games + Nintendo can take a bet on testing their IPs on mobile platforms. The synergy between both should overall help Nintendo and mitigate the risk to any particular revenue stream.

As a gamer more importantly, this means Nintendo's next console hardware device doesn't need to meet pricing thresholds set by their desire to attract a casual audience since they will have a variety of other devices to meet that need - no gimmicks needed - they can build hardware specific for each audience and tie them into NNID/Miiverse/etc.

GAF should be ecstatic at this news - I really don't get why people believe Nintendo is abandoning gaming. At the very end of the Q&A Iwata explicitly says their core business is going to be building their own gaming hardware and software. Go read the Q&A!

I don't entirely understand what Iwata has planned, though I'm starting to think that's the point; Iwata wants to do something completely different from anything that's currently out there, but wants to do it in a way that is very much Nintendo and which ties in with Nintendo's gaming business. I think it's only natural to be a little confused simply because it's something completely new, and we don't see many completely new things anymore.

I personally find this very interesting; I am a bit skeptical about the health aspect, but I've loved all of Nintendo's innovations to date, so I may very well end up loving this one, too. I guess only time will tell.

Nintendo's business activity started with card games, more than a century ago. Videogames came obviously later, as the corporation reinvented itself. They also hold a significant share of the Seattle Mariners (my beloved team by the way) and have ventured in many business fields. Thus I don't really see anything unusual in this new approach, it's called cope with the times that change; I just hope they succeed and I'm curious to see what's hidden up their sleeve.

Maybe it's just because it's exactly 2:37 a.m. where I live and I'm going on literally 3 hours of sleep in the last 3 days but I was completely lost looking at the graph and with all this stuff Iwata is talking about. I don't care what Nintendo does, as long as I keep getting games like The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds and Super Mario 3D Land for my 3DS rather than phone-style games.

QOL? What?!?! confused Just continue to make Quality Games (QG). For heaven sake, please make more, more, more games for Wii U!I want to buy a 3rd Wii U console limited edition MK8 bundle and make it RED!

Nintendo...stop trying to market your products to people that aren't interested and start marketing your products to us loyal and hardcore fans. All I want are games, I want to play SSB already and I most definitely can't wait to play Zelda in glorious 1080p! Please deliver Nintendo!

If it's non-wearable, that would mean it's a stationary device, that either records data or does some sort of task, either by itself, or with your Nintendo device. I'm thinking along the lines of those apps(for 3DS/Wii U), that allow you to control your gadgets around the house.

@crobatman@babyguess@Romeo@blinkpunk02 Nintendo is still going to keep making great games - they've made tremendous investments in the space over the past few years - even if traditional gaming dies - I can guarantee you Nintendo will be the last hold out and try to keep providing a traditional gaming experience.

We may see in the future a Wii Fit U related game tied to Nintendo branded heart rate monitors, pedometer or smartphone app - With certain Quality O fLife targets being able to unlock bonus content within your game software.Eg. A future Wii fit U title commands the player to go out and physically run in the real word with a smartphone app, pedometer or whatever Nintedo branded QOL device.GPS technology is then used to track speed and distance.Data is then uploaded into Nintendo software where if a certain distance is covered within a certain timeframe then maybe a trophy is unlocked.Possibly Gold, Silver, Bronze medals like Timesplitters2 etc.

Or perhaps peoples best times are uploaded to Nintendo network to share publicly

Another example - Achieving a certain IQ level within a brain training related title allows players to unlock a level within a Nintendo platform game that has an extremely hard difficulty, or unlocks a complex puzzle.

This all sounds like tipical business tosh. Whatever they devise it will probably only get a Japanese release and be totally irrelevant to the gaming markets. They have only announced this to show the stock markets that recovery plans are afoot.

The way i see it, Nintendo will soon add a new platform (not a new console thank god) solely about health and fitness. That was a big success with the Wii so it's not surprising that they would do this full time in the future. (But they still better support their gaming consoles!!!) I dont know how this would help the Wii U though, unless there's some sort of crossover... But I do think they should branch out and do other stuff. I mean, they already had a bunch of weird business ventures in the early of Nintendo.

I love the fact that Nintedo is not gonna try to compete with or bow down to Sony and MS, Nintendo is going to continue to do their own thing like they've always done, in their own special way and i think that is awesome!

It's not exactly what i wanted to hear, but it's good enough! PLUS MARIO KART 8 IN MAY and DS GAMES ON THE WII!!! WOOOOO

See this is what I love most about Nintendo, their ability to suprise & bring joy. They're going to find new ways of improving our quality of life, make us healthier & happier humans. They're going to add actual physical benefits to entertainment somehow. Not just making fun games to make a quick buck on existing platforms but looking to make new ways of simply improving the human race. Genius, pure genius.

Now that I think of it, this could be a good strategy. The casual gamers who made Wii Fit etc. such a huge success were not interested in the rest 80% Wii had to offer, which was made for us, the core gamers. It's pretty safe to say that the Wii Fit audience doesn't want to invest in a new video game console and core gamers don't want to invest in a new casual console, with motion detection controls and casual games as the selling point.

It could be that Wii Fit etc. served as a prototype for something that is completely aimed at a casual audience, which is not interested in video gaming in any traditional sense. These two completely different customer segments made the Wii a success, but on this round it's perhaps no longer wise to offer the same product for both segments (if Wii U:s sales are anything to go by). It could be a good idea to launch a separate platform for all the non gamers, meanwhile focus on launching cool, core-oriented content for the Wii U, like F-Zero, Metroid, Pokèmon and Star Fox. It's not anymore about making the Wii U a success, but rather about damage control, which I'd be completely happy with as long as we'll be getting good games and innovative implementation of the Gamepad.

@Haywired but if they did it for free, they would only be able to help for as long as they have money & once that stops the help stops. Therefore they are able to better help for longer if they help themselves by earning money too.

This should kill their stock. Between this and DS on WiiU I have list all faith in Nintendo. They still haven't delivered GBA or N64 games after being announced last year. So glad I have a PS3 and Vita. PS4 here I come.

@MuchoMochi I don't think you understand the situation. Being a video game maker isn't enough. No matter what they do this year or next they won't make the kind of money they need to survive long term.... In the short to medium time they are fine, but they have to start making moves to provide stability down the road. The margin in video games is so tiny, you almost have to have a hit every time to remain successful.

The number one way to make money in business is to solve a problem. The more people who have this problem, the more money you make. They identified a problem and now they are going to figure out how to solve it. You and I might love their games but we need to recognize our entertainment dollars is just isn't enough to keep Nintendo operating long term.

@daggdroppen not once did they say they are shifting away from video games. It's time to be realistic, they won't be around forever in just only the video game market, they need to find new revenue streams. Even if the Wii U was sales tracking the xbox360 the margins wouldn't be enough to survive long term.

You should support their decision to branch out. We don't have to buy the product/service but any additional income they can make is a good thing for the company long term and our interactive entertainment.

I hope they use this for games. To me it sounds like some crazy virtual reality stuff. It sure would be cool if they could "put you in the game". That's what this kind of sounds line, with the "healthy" stuff and all. In a platformer, you could really lose some weight.

Does anyone know (or bother to look up) what integrated hardware/software solution is? Think of an iPad being able to sync its info to both your imac and iPhone ... That's all. I think that's where they're going... It has become a very popular refrain from many companies (qol/integrated he/sw solutions) including Microsoft, Samsung, Sony and yes, even amazon (kindle), although I'm not sure how theirs works.

The problem Nintendo is trying to solve is - With Wii and the DS they tapped into a new market and expanded the video game market as a whole with software like brainage, wii fit, wii sports- its the "casual" crowd that helped nintendo be successful last gen. However- this gen with Wii U they seem to have lost that crowd. So their next move is to make a new product dedicated soley to that casual market- while still keeping their video game business going at the same time.And if they are sucessful they can integrate the two

This could be a very good thing if it works out. Not only from a financial standpoint but across the board. Not only will they have a whole new division providing addition income, but they'll be able to pool together resources and share innovations.

Remember stories like the Wii being good for physical therapy? They could do real work with that stuff. How about a controller with a built-in vitality sensor? If anything things like Wii Fit could be their own separate thing rather than being tacked onto their game consoles.

Besides, they could be onto something really great, and the fact they're talking to investors is proof they have something in mind. I for one hope they're onto something with this, if it works I'd certainly try it.

@PrincessEevee9 since when did wanting a video game company to make games be fickle? I love Nintendo but they just aren't the game company they used to be. Sony has a great environment that doesn't charge you twice for games across their two platforms, they have a great online experience, and a fantastic account system. Is it asking too much for Nintendo to catch up and stop screwing us? I wish them luck but I am shutting down this turd factory and moving on.

@boynerdramblingAh, that is a very good excerpt from NeoGAF. Thanks! Hopefully the fruits that this venture produces will be beneficial to both us as gamers and Nintendo. I know I'm interested to see where they head with this.

This is SO confusing it really is unbelievable. There must have been a massive amount of explaining by Nintendo for them to logically start talking about a QOL machine during a financial meeting.

They're a videogame company, if they just randomly start talking about fitness and showing graphics like that flowchart investors would've went mad! Why QOL? Why Nintendo for quality of life? What does this have to do with videogames? How is this going to be a profitable venture? What does it mean for the future of WiiU?

Announcing things prematurely like this is slightly ridiculous and I frankly have no idea what any of this actually means for the future of Nintendo. I'm running on close to zero love for Nintendo at this point even though I certainly tremendously respect their games.

Hopefully they meant what I've seen about going hard on licensing their IPs for 'digital goods' to studios that will make a 'win-win' situation for them both but if we don't see proof of this soon then I might be too heartbroken to continue.

@Spanjard That's true for the WiiU only, which is why Nintendo should completely abandon it.

@8bitforever Those are my thoughts as well, after reading they have no plans for a real account system with their current platforms, only future ones. They are ridiculously slow when it comes fulfilling any of their promises (games and otherwise).

Once the 3DS is done with physical releases (the only way i'll support it, due to the inferior service). Goodbye and good luck to whatever crap they have in the works afterwards.

oh man. Oh man. OH MAN.This isn't going to end well. It's like they realised they have nothing against Sony and Microsoft and desperately try to make the Wii FIt and Brain Age craze (that arleady died) to a new buisness pillar. Oh man....Please Nintendo, at least TRY to compete with Sony and MS. They do it without you and people are eating it up. It is so depressing...they are really clueless...

this isn't a bad idea but, as usual, their tapping into 'innovation' like most of us put gloves on when it's cold outside. So then... that whole motion controller thing that people waited in lines to buy wasn't at all perfect for this so we figured we'd only make glorified fitness mini games and workout video style games. This time we'll make a dedicated cheaply manufactured machine (i.e. "non-wearable" nice spin), so we can sell our own cheap fitness software. Never mind ignoring the potential of hybrid fitness action/adventure with existing IPs perfect for the motion controllers that people would have eaten up. People are just waiting for some great, interesting, game-based thing that's why the janky Wiifit did so well, despite missing the point of what interactive fitness needs to become.

If I had even lazily shuffled my feet or arms for any of the time I've sprinted across Hyrule or planet Zebeth on a time limit you can bet I'd be shedding pounds and more immersed in my game. No one wants to go 'work out' with a cheesy digital trainer and bad music, they want story, action, and consequential choices. Would it be that hard to have developed any of that for the Wii or WiiU? No, but it would take REAL innovation, not white collar 'creatives' spewing jargon and giving us more 3d rendered fitness videos. Nintendo likes to trumpet their successes but they never seem to get just what part of each made them successful, it's pathetic really. Time for new blood there. Show me some real innovation, though, and I'll eat my words; there is potential with this.

Hmm.. This is pretty interesting. I honestly don't know what they mean with their non-wearable 'QOL' product. However combined with the fact that they're licensing their IP to other party's all I could think of was educational software for children and teenagers, and medical hardware for hospitals. However these markets already do exist and are not something new or 'untapped.' I'm excited nonetheless for the reveal of this product. I do hope it works out for them and isn't as risky as it sounds.

@Moorpheel Currently, developers are working on wearable video game technology. But as Nintendo is somewhat behind in this technology era it is important for them to work on something ahead of the competitors even though they never even started working on present day technology. "Leapfrog".

@MuchoMochi I couldnt agree more! Is he trying to turn a video game company into a fitness fad gimmick?! Wow! Iwata, just make GAMES!!!!!!!!!! Oh my god what happened Nintendo? I am done. I am done being a fan unless they come backwith real games. UUNBELIEVABLE!

Stick with home consoles & handheld's and go into Smart phone's with some limited games ... sorted.smart phones people would play the limited nintendo games and want home systems and handhelds to get more nintendo. It's not rocket science.

I came into this meeting with low expectations. What they said and hinted at blew away what I'd expected to hear. Who knows what this QOL platform is, but I'm really, really intrigued and excited by its potential.

And it cracks me up how all the fans/analysts were saying "Go mobile! Lose the GamePad!" And Iwata comes out and says, We're focusing on the GamePad. And we're leapfrogging mobile altogether.

Nintendo's response to casuals not caring about the Wii U is the delve even deeper into trying to cater to casuals and completely ignore/abandon trying to get business from the the hardcore gamer market.

Once I saw the diagram of technology (Console -> Mobile -> Wearable -> Non-Wearable), I instantly thought that Nintendo would make making gaming that occurs inside the head like in Swords Art Online... only no helmet. Virtual Reality inside the head would be the best thing EVER! Imagine Virtual Reality of CoD.

@element187 yes I know that, der. What I was trying to say was Nintendo needs to communicate with gamers and tell us what their plans are for the Wii U in 2014. We've had no Direct or news on their plans to turn things around for the Wii U this year. And yes, announcing a slew of new games would help turn things around. They are a video game company, that's what they do. Even shareholders know this.

@8bitforever I'm sorry I didn't know you could see the future may I borrow your time machine? Tell me is the human race still kicking, I mean you're talking like you know that Nintendo's abandoning the Wii U and games when obviously they're not. Sure walk away from a good company when something innovative comes along and all the details aren't even know that's smart.

@PrincessEevee9 I just know that they are doing very little to convince me that they want to make the most of this platform. Just wait until they still don't fix the account system, or still fail to bring GBA games out. Their track record isn't good, and this makes me more sure that I won't be supporting them in the future. No SNES/GBA games on 3DS and no account system equal me gaming with Sony. We still don't have the Pokemon bank! You really think they are going to deliver...keep dreaming. I will be playing next generation greatness!